Carlos Alcaraz is nearing his return to competition at the Cincinnati Open, and the ATP Tour has handed him a useful advantage before he even plays a match.

The Spaniard has been out since suffering a wrist injury at the Barcelona Open in April. That setback forced him to miss Roland Garros, Wimbledon and three Masters events. He has since entered both the Cincinnati Open and the US Open, and recent social media footage has shown him hitting balls with real power as his comeback draws closer.

Alcaraz had slipped to world No 3 after Alexander Zverev’s victory at Roland Garros and Alcaraz’s own final appearance at Wimbledon. Even so, he has now climbed back to world No 2 without competing in recent days.

The reason is a scheduling change. The Canadian Open has been moved up by a week, which means Zverev has lost the 360 points he collected from the 2025 event. Alcaraz did not play the Canadian Open last year, so he has not had any points to defend there and has risen in the rankings without stepping onto court.

At the moment, Jannik Sinner leads the ATP Tour top three on 13,450 points, with Alcaraz on 8160 and Zverev on 8090. The gap between Alcaraz and Zverev is only 70 points, and Zverev is likely to make up some of that during the Canadian Open. But it will not come in time to change the Cincinnati seedings.

That is the key detail for Alcaraz. Because the Cincinnati cut-off comes before the Canadian Open finishes, he will remain the second seed in Cincinnati. That should place him on the opposite side of the draw from Sinner and keep the world No 1 out of his path until the final, at the earliest.

It is a significant lift for Alcaraz as he prepares for his first tournament in five months. He is also defending the full 1000 points from his 2025 Cincinnati title, so a strong run will be essential if he wants to stay at world No 2.

Daniil Medvedev will arrive at the Canadian Open as the fourth seed, a reflection of the significant number of withdrawals from the tournament. Only Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alex de Minaur are placed above him in the seeding.

With Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic all absent, Medvedev becomes one of the leading contenders for the title. The Russian has already collected two ATP Tour trophies in 2026, and the depleted field gives him a clear opportunity to add another major result.

Asked by Bolshe about the absences in Canada and the possible thinking behind them, Medvedev gave a measured response. “I think it’s normal, everyone has their own reasons. Alcaraz injured his wrist, he missed two Slams and so on. Sinner, obviously it’s not easy when you win many tournaments in a row. You win Wimbledon, you don’t have much time,” said the Russian star.

He then pointed specifically to Sinner’s scheduling choice, saying, “Obviously his main goal is the US Open and he chose to prepare the best way possible for the US Open,” he said about Sinner’s decision to miss the tournament again.

Medvedev also addressed Djokovic’s absence, and was candid about the challenge of managing a full calendar at this stage of a career. “If we talk about Novak, he’s 39, age is taking its toll, you need to choose tournaments where you can play well,” added the current world No 6.

“I saw that he’s playing Cincinnati, that’s already good. I thought maybe he would go straight to the US Open. So everyone has their own story, but there are still many great players in the draw and I hope the best one wins.”

Djokovic is set to play the Cincinnati Open for the first time since 2023, when he won the title for a third time.

Medvedev has his own history at both events, having won the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open. He captured the Cincinnati title in 2019 and followed with the Canadian crown two years later. Recent results, however, have been less convincing, with early exits in Canada over the past two years and similarly short runs in Cincinnati across the last three seasons.

He has a first-round bye and will meet either Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard or Botic van de Zandschulp in round two.

Former British No 1 Greg Rusedski has described Novak Djokovic’s decision to play Cincinnati before the 2026 US Open as an “excellent sign”. Djokovic confirmed last week that he will compete at the Masters 1000 event, which runs from 13 to 23 August, marking his first appearance there since 2023.

In a video released by the Cincinnati Open, Djokovic said: “I am very happy to announce that I will be in Cincinnati this year, for the first time since 2023,” Djokovic said in a video shared by the Cincinnati Open.

“That year I played one of the top three Masters 1000 finals of my career.

“I really look forward to coming back, playing in front of you again, and seeing all the fans from around the world. See you soon!”

Djokovic won that 2023 final against Carlos Alcaraz in three sets, then carried that momentum to the 2023 US Open, where he claimed his 24th and most recent Grand Slam title.

The 39-year-old has not played since his Wimbledon semi-final defeat to world No 1 Jannik Sinner last month.

On the latest episode of his Off Court With Greg Rusedski podcast, Rusedski said Djokovic’s Cincinnati entry suggests the Serbian’s shoulder issue is improving.

“The good news is, he didn’t play any lead-ups to Paris because of the shoulder problem, so, the shoulder must be doing a lot better [now]. And that is a positive sign,” said the 1997 US Open finalist.

“No lead-up when he got to the finals of the Australian Open either, and Wimbledon. So, maybe he’s starting to get his mojo back and the body’s starting to bounce back and he’s feeling healthy.

“We’re going to learn a lot more about Novak in Cincinnati. And that is an excellent sign for all those Djokovic fans out there.”

Rusedski, who reached world No 4, also turned his attention to Jack Draper ahead of the Brit’s expected return in Montreal.

“He’s trying to find solutions,” said Rusedski. “I just want to see him play a full match. I want to see him get through tournaments. As I said in our last show, he’s a guy we need back in our sport.

“He’s a guy we want to see healthy. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m bored of it! I just want to see him play some tennis.”